officiate

verb

of·​fi·​ci·​ate ə-ˈfi-shē-ˌāt 

officiated; officiating

intransitive verb

1

: to perform a ceremony, function, or duty

officiate at a wedding

2

: to act in an official capacity : act as an official (as at a sports contest)

transitive verb

1

: to carry out (an official duty or function)

2

: to serve as a leader or celebrant of (a ceremony)

3

: to administer the rules of (a game or sport) especially as a referee or umpire

officiation

ə-ˌfi-shē-ˈā-shən 

noun

Examples of officiate in a Sentence

The bishop officiated the memorial Mass.

Two referees officiated the hockey game.

Recent Examples on the Web

Cohen's longtime friend, Roy Schoenberg, officiated. —Erin Clack, PEOPLE, 24 Nov. 2025

And the Chiefs had a touchdown taken off the board on what appeared to be an incorrect call by the officiating crew. —Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 23 Nov. 2025

The referee, who was leading the officiating crew on the night, was replaced by umpire Roy Ellison, eliminating the umpire position for the remainder of the game. —Patrick Sung, CNN Money, 21 Nov. 2025

At the competition committee meetings on Thursday, the topic of WNBA officiating was hotly discussed, sources said, and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert also publicly acknowledged at the 2025 WNBA Finals the importance of aligning on officiating standards. —Ben Pickman, New York Times, 19 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin officiātus, past participle of officiāre "to perform a function, perform priestly duties," going back to Late Latin officiārī "to perform a function," derivative of Latin officium "duty, office"

First Known Use

1623, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for officiate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

Kids Definition

officiate

verb

of·​fi·​ci·​ate ə-ˈfish-ē-ˌāt 

officiated; officiating

1

: to perform a ceremony

officiate at a wedding

2

: to act as an officer

officiated at the annual meeting

3

: to enforce the rules of (a game or sport)

officiate a soccer match